New Blood
by El loopy
Summary: [50 years after RotJ] Apprentices are going missing and a member of the council has been killed. Fearing a resurrection of the Dark side the Jedi council send one Master Astin to assist two other Jedi in the discovery of what's going on...
1. Prologue

**I wrote this for a friend for her birthday and she'd given me permission to put it up here. I'd love it if you could review and tell me what you think.**

**Disclaimer: Although I don't own Starwars in any way shape or form Nadin, Astin, the Rusyer and Izwark are mine**

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New Blood

_It has been fifty years since the Emperor was destroyed. _

_Luke and Leia Skywalker have set up a school to discover and train young Jedis, thus resurrecting the Jedi order and setting up a new council._

_Despite the time that has elapsed several rebellion pockets still exist, and it is down to the Jedis to suppress them._

_However, unbeknown to the Jedi Council, a particular rebellion pocket has again reawakened and now the young Jedi apprentices are in danger._

Prologue 

"They're coming master."

Astin turned to see the droids advancing down the corridor.

"Deal with them Nadin!" he snapped and continued to hack at the five inch thick steel door with his Green Light Sabre. There was a zinging noise from behind as Nadin fought the machines. As the last one fell to the floor Astin emerged from the room with a light blue, glowing object - the Altrax Crystal.

"Got it!" he called and they set of down the corridor.

Astin stopped at a second door and glanced around, "They've sealed off the bay's doors. Watch my back Nadin." He began to cut a way through.

"I bet I could find the control panel," Nadin stated.

"No! Nadin, stay where you…" Astin turned around to be faced by the barrels of guns held in Rusyer fists. "Damn the boy," he muttered as the strange creatures that resembled Squirrels took his Light Sabre and the Altrax Crystal.

Without further ado he was marched into the control room to face the leader, who looked, if anything, rabid.

"Master Astin," he chuckled, "It really is a pleasure."

Astin sighed and rolled his eyes, "Yes. I'm sure." It was always a pleasure. Why did the enemy insist on doing these ridiculous preliminaries? It was so much easier if you just got to the point. For example…

With a flick of his wrist Astin made his Light Sabre jump into his hand and placed the point at the leader's throat.

"I'll be having the crystal back please."

The object was swiftly handed over.

"Now if you could just show me your security footage I'll find my apprentice and be on my way."

The Rusyer ushered him quickly to the computer screen. Keeping half an eye on the leader Astin flicked through the ship's security cameras. After a few moments he found Nadin. The brown-haired boy was locked in a ferocious battle with a group of millipede looking creatures with lasers and stun guns. He was outnumbered about ten-to-one. His powder blue Light Sabre flashed in a blur as he deflected the shots.

"Call them off." Astin growled at the leader.

"They're not mine," the Rusyer protested. "Those are Izwark scum." He turned to his guards, "How did they get on board?"

Nadin took three stun shots in his chest and crashed to the floor unconscious. Astin was out the door within seconds and racing down the corridors as fast he could. He was nearing the section where the fight had taken place when he stumbled over a decapitated Rusyer. A second one lay not too far away, followed by a third – the floor was slick with their midnight blue blood. Astin grimaced and stepped over the bodies. That solved the mystery of why the guards hadn't warned the Rusyer leader of the Izwark's intrusion.

He continued down the corridor, pulling out his Light Sabre and switching it on. In front of him he finally saw the Izwark. They were carrying Nadin's unconscious body.

With a yell, Astin attacked. A small body of them broke off from the main group and engaged him in battle. They didn't last long against Astin's Sabre but in the time it took him to dispatch them the other Izwark had already boarded their ship and were taking off.

Leaping into his transport, Astin started the engines and pursued them.

"Come on," he muttered as he tried to force the pile of junk to go fast. "Come on!"

The engines spluttered.

"No." Astin snarled.

Suddenly the Izwark ship vanished ahead of him as it hit light speed.

"Damn," Astin hit the control panel with his fists. "This is precisely why I want my own ship." With a sigh he turned it and programmed in for it to take him back to the Jedi Council. Nadin's kidnapping would have to be reported immediately.


	2. Jedi Council

**A huge thank you to Even Gods Dream for your encouraging review and to Miss Mary Lou for that...erm...well I guess you could call it a review...**

**Disclaimer: Well if you recognise the name as a Starwars character then it clearly isn't mine.**

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Chapter 1: Jedi Council 

Astin walked through the still marble corridors, footsteps echoing as he approached the Council Chamber. Everything was strangely still, quiet. The corridors were usually filled with students going from one lesson to another, or at least, if lessons were on, there would be some out in the corridors practising their skills. The corridor was lined with benches used for such pursuits and yet they were all empty. The sky outside was overcast with showers of rain. They would not be outside. So where was everyone?

The air held the feeling of mourning in it. It made him nervous.

Swiftly Astin reached the Council Chamber and entered. The Council was based at the school that Luke and Leia had set up, for the simple reason that they were all teachers there. The Jedi order was slowly recovering thanks to the school but as of yet there still was not enough Jedis, especially those of master status, capable of teaching.

The door hissed open and Astin stepped into the small circular room that was plainly decorated. Without ceremony he placed the crystal on the table and looked around the council.

"Some Izwarks took Nadin," he declared.

Luke Skywalker flinched, "Then it is not just a coincidence as I hoped."

"What isn't?" Astin demanded of his former master.

"Sit down Astin," Luke said calmly.

Astin sat slowly into his chair in the semi-circle of eight – two of which were empty and two were filled with holograms.

Luke gestured to another Jedi in the circle – the hologram of a person with a fish's head.

"Nadin is not the first. While you were on your mission to subdue the rebellion pocket and retrieve the Altrax Crystal, Master Pyu-saz also lost his apprentice. And…" he trailed off.

"Drago's dead," Talet – Luke's twenty-five year old, dark-haired, grandson - finished for him.

Astin choked, "What?!"

Luke looked upset, "I felt his life force go out."

Astin looked towards Drago's empty chair, "How's Leia taking it?"

"She's distraught. To lose her son so soon after Han was too much. I'm with her now," a hologram of a girl, Hannah, spoke. "But that's not all," she added, with a slight crack in her voice, "Ronan hasn't returned either."

Astin looked sharply at Luke for confirmation.

Luke looked grim. "We fear that they took Ronan and killed Drago when he went after them."

Ronan was Hannah's son and consequently Drago's nephew. For security reasons and support young Jedis had been paired up with another Jedi of more experience. Drago had taken Ronan.

A chill went down Astin's spine. Whoever it was responsible for the missing Jedi it was clear that they were only taking the apprentices and young ones.

"Any other's missing?" he asked.

"Another Jedi has also reported the disappearance of their young partner."

"Then they are only after the inexperienced."

"Indeed," Luke confirmed.

Anikan – Luke's son – took over, "We can still sense their life force. We know they're not dead, but the signals we pick up are confusing. We sense emotional turmoil, in some cases pain and then nothing."

"Nothing?" Astin questioned.

"We can no longer sense them. It's like they've been cut off from the force."

"No," Luke countered, "not from the force. From us. The dark side is growing. We don't know what they're doing with our young ones. We suspect a trap set for the masters or it could be an attempt to destroy the next generation of Jedi and thus wipe us out again. Either way all masters must keep an eye on their partners until we figure this out."

The semi-circle of humans, creatures and holograms nodded.

"Meeting over," Luke stated and the holograms switched off.

Astin was left in the room with Anikan, Luke and Talet.

"This is a grievous problem," Anikan said grimly. His once blonde hair, like his father's was now streaked with grey.

Luke nodded, "And the council has been weakened by the loss of Drago."

"We better inform our apprentices of the situation," Anikan stood and strode from the room. Talet followed.

As Luke prepared to leave Astin studied his former Master. Luke's face was much lined with age, his hair almost white, but there was still an energetic spark left in his eyes.

"Master," Astin called out, "where is Atana?"

Luke turned, "You noticed her empty seat? Atana is with her partner on a mission so they are unable to stay in contact."

"Dangerous then?"

"Yes, they are discovering how Drago died."

Astin faltered, "Only the two of them?"

"Well, soon to be three," Luke replied. "You'll join them naturally, now that you have nothing better to do. In fact, you should warn them. Keep an eye on Chiara. That girl has a lot of talent, considering that she's only been a Jedi for a year. Once she tames her temper she'll be brought up to Master status."

"So soon? She's that good?"

"Indeed. Her fault is that her temper needs to be better controlled. I'd rather not lose her to the Izwark."

Astin nodded, "I'll go."

"By the way," Luke continued, "she's Nadin's cousin so might be able to help you find him. The bonds of family are strong."


	3. Mission

Chapter 2: Mission 

The area was still and silent. There was no movement from the large cylindrical building below save the odd twitch as one of the guards shifted in his position. Giant green leaves pressed themselves against the screen, impairing vision.

"Has anyone moved?"

Atana sighed and brushed a strand of dark blonde hair out of her eyes.

"Nothing," she stated, straightening up and taking her green eyes from the enemy base. "Do you want to watch for a bit?"

The twenty-one year old snorted from her position on the couch, booted feet resting on the table. "No thanks. You'll probably think I'm not doing it correctly and take over again anyway. Besides you know my whole sentiment on this matter."

Atana shook her head, "You're too hot headed Chiara." She turned her eyes back to the base. They'd put up the invisibility screens on their ship and landed it among the trees in a prime spot to overlook the place where Drago had reportedly died.

"This has nothing to do with my temper!" Chiara snapped sitting up sharply, her black hair whipping around her head, the white streaks catching the light. "I fail to see how sitting here is helping us! The only thing that's happened is that an Izwark ship has left and come back."

"Chiara," Atana turned to face her young partner, "I want to have a full overview of everything and get as much information as possible before we go in there. It was the fact that Drago went charging in there that he ended up…" she trailed off and swallowed hard.

Chiara sighed and got up, "Then let me go have a poke around. Please."

"For the last time no. The last thing we want is to have another one dead or captured or even worse to let the Izwarks know that we're onto them."

"But I'm bored…"

There was a thump from outside.

Both girls froze.

"I'll check it out." Chiara smiled gleefully and drew her light sabre.

Atana rolled her eyes, "Fine just don't get caught, or killed, and don't let whoever it is escape."

----------

Chiara slipped out of the room and opened the door. A quick scan of the area yielded nothing. The undergrowth was thick around the outside of the small clearing with tangled vines wrapped around giant trunks. It looked like a patch of grass a little way from the ship had been flattened by something. She narrowed her eyes at the patch and concentrated. What appeared to be a small transport ship, a single person one, shimmered momentarily in her mind before disappearing back under its invisibility cloak.

"Hi."

She spun around, slicing her light sabre through the air in a lilac arc. It crashed into a green one in a shower of sparks. She found herself face to face with a pair of misty grey eyes. The stranger raised one eyebrow, "May I come in?"

--------

Atana swivelled in her chair as Chiara re-entered the room, followed by someone else wearing the traditional brown Jedi Master's cloak.

"Astin!" She smiled in delight.

"Luke thought you could use some help here and I happen to momentarily have nothing to do."

Atana scanned the doorway behind him, "Where's Nadin?"

Chiara looked up sharply, "You work with my cousin?"

Astin bit his lip and coughed awkwardly. "Yes…hmm…about that…sort of…captured by Izwarks."

Atana and Chiara stared at him.

"What?" he asked defensively. "Not my fault. He refused to follow the plan and ran off somewhere."

"You're too inflexible," Atana said, "Let me guess. Instead of looking for him you carried on as you had previously agreed?"

Astin looked coolly at her, "You must always stick to the plan. It's the only constant thing."

Chiara was glowering at the Jedi master and his ash blonde hair. "You let my cousin get captured?"

Astin met her eyes slowly, a look that made her stomach do something strange. "I'm sorry." He reached for her hand, "I'm Master Astin. You must be Chiara. I've heard you praised highly by Luke."

Chiara blushed and took his hand to shake it.

A spark leapt the distance between their hands in an instant, giving them both a sharp shock.

"Ouch!" Chiara yelped. "What was that?"

Astin seemed to be bewildered as to what it was as well. He was staring at his hand as if it had betrayed him.

Atana was looking from one to the other. There was a strange expression on her face. "You're soul mates."

It was said so blankly and with a voice so full of bitterness that it made both of them look at her.

"You what?"

"Soul mates." She repeated, and then started to recite, "It is part of Jedi law that a Jedi is not allowed to love. However there is an exception to this rule due to a little peculiarity in the force. The average mortal usually picks out their own mate however in some circumstances the force decides to give them a helping hand. This is known as the Soulmate Principle. It is when there is a bond between two people, whether they have met or not. These people might go on their entire lives never meeting their soul mate, however, if they should meet each other the force gives them a clear sign of this." Atana paused and took a deep breath, as if trying to remember the next bit. "The sign is as follows. When the perfect partner comes forward i.e. the two people meet, the bond between them becomes more concentrated. This means that it draws more of the force to it, therefore when it comes to almost touching that person a thread of electricity can jump between the two people. This is caused by such a high concentration of the force being in one place." The reciting tone left her voice. "It is unknown whether this bond can ever snap or fade away with time and distance. I hope it can." She said half to herself then seemed to shake herself out of it. "After it happens the first time the concentration disperses a little and it doesn't happen again till after a long absence."

"How do you know this?" Chiara asked her.

"I read it in a book once," Atana said sullenly. She looked at the disbelieving faces of the other two. "Okay, fine. I read it quite a few times – over and over again – until it embedded itself in my brain. All right?"

Chiara blinked and looked back to Astin.

"So…soul mates hey?"

--------

Astin sat and watched as Chiara paced back and forth in front of him. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and fourth.

"Could you stop it?" he asked finally in a calm voice.

Chiara looked at him scornfully, putting a halt to her pacing.

"Why are you doing that?" Astin asked pointedly.

"Because I'm bored," Chiara answered, irritated that he'd interrupted her, and then resumed the pacing.

Astin merely shut his eyes against the hypnotic, headache inducing rhythm but that didn't stop the clack, clack, clack on the floor.

"Why are we just sitting around here and not doing anything?" he finally enquired.

Chiara threw up her arms in a gesture of exasperation, but didn't stop pacing. "Atana wants to be fully prepared before we go in there."

Astin frowned slightly. "How more prepared are we going to get? We can't afford to wait around here much longer. Nadin's in there, along with Ronan and probably that other apprentice too."

"_Precisely_ my point," Chiara exclaimed, halting. "But Atana just won't listen to me."

Astin got to his feet with a conspiratorial smile on his face.

"Well maybe we should try and persuade her together?"

Chiara looked at him quizzically.

"Maybe she could refuse her partner, and maybe she could refuse an old friend…but do you think she could refuse both, at the same time, asking her repeatedly, one after the other and dogging her every move?"

Chiara grinned.

"No…I don't think that she could."

----------

"So we're agreed that we're going to bust in there and try to find Nadin and Ronan and this other apprentice?" Chiara asked for confirmation.

Atana sighed and nodded. She'd buckled under the pressure from both of them to go in and do something instead of sitting there and observing.

"I think…" Astin began but Atana interrupted before he could continue.

"I've already formulated a plan."

He folded his arms and leaned against the wall as Atana went through it with them. She unrolled a map of the outside of the base. "The side entrance is here," she pointed, "its very small and fairly unnoticeable, which is why it's only lightly guarded. There's also an airway here," she pointed at a place on the opposite side of the base, near the unloading bays. "It leads into the centre. I want to have a look around and see what the Izwark are doing and see if I can find out why they want our apprentices. I'll have a poke around and then get out via the unloading bays. You two are to go through the side entrance and see if you can find the others. The side entrance is near to the landing pad so it's likely that any prisoners would be held nearby. Chiara, you need to look for Nadin as you're the one with the bond with him. Astin will go with you as back up."

Chiara frowned slightly. "So I go with Astin to find Nadin while you have a poke around the base?" she summarised.

Atana nodded.

Chiara shook her head. "I think that we should stick together. What if…?"

"This plan works fine," Atana insisted, cutting her off.

Chiara pulled a face.

"This is a nice ship," Astin stated, ignoring Atana and examining the craft. "When I get my own I shall seriously consider getting one of these."

Both girls looked at him in bewilderment.

"What?" he smiled, meeting their eyes, "I learnt long ago not to argue with Atana over a plan. She won't let you make any adjustments or amendments so just follow it and hope for the best is what I say."

Atana grinned, "Right. Don't argue. So what are we waiting for?"


	4. Bust out

Chapter 3: Bust out 

Astin and Chiara crept around the back, crouching behind large clumps of undergrowth, and slowly edging their way towards the guarded side door. The plants were so thick here that it was no wonder the place was so lightly guarded. It would take a miracle for anyone to know the door existed, never mind be able to fight through the thicket in order to get there.

"So how do we get in?" Chiara asked, slightly breathless.

Astin grinned at her, "We get rid of the guards."

Chiara blinked at him, "But wouldn't that alert the entire base to our presence?"

Astin shrugged, "Atana reckons that we can find Nadin and get out before they realise."

Chiara sighed, "I'm going to die."

"Don't be such a pessimist."

Astin leapt out from the cover and sliced the first Izwark in two. Chiara mumbled something that sounded like 'This is suicide' but followed him out regardless. It was unfortunate for them that there were three guards, and that while Astin and Chiara were dealing with the first two the third escaped into the surrounding foliage.

Chiara made a move to go after it.

"Leave it," Astin said grabbing her arm, "Stick to the plan."

"But he could alert the entire base!" She hissed back at him.

"Stick – to the – plan"

Glaring at him Chiara kicked down the side door and entered the complex.

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Atana shuffled along on her stomach in the dirt. She knew it was here somewhere…

A smile lit up her face as she found the small vent. Some basic manoeuvres with a light sabre got the vent open and she was soon crawling through the airways.

Kicking open a grill she dropped gracefully on to the shiny grey floor and stopped to listen. Nothing. Morons didn't keep this place particularly well guarded. Now which way should she go?

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"All right," Astin turned to Chiara, "Which way?"

She hesitated, and then closed her eyes. _Where are you Nadin?_ She whispered with her mind, mentally surveying the corridors.

"This way," she bolted down one of the branches, just in time as a troop of Izwark stomped past.

"Great, they're changing the guard. Let's abort the plan."

Astin shook his head, "This is the only chance we'll get. They'll know about us after today. If we want to get Nadin out we have to do it now!"

Chiara spun on her heel and marched off muttering.

They traversed their way across the base, deeper and deeper into it, every now and then dodging soldiers. Chiara was still muttering that the whole thing was stupid.

"I'm lost." She stated finally, admitting defeat. "The place has too many corridors and there's something else here…a corruption in the force…or…I don't know…it's making everything hard to see. It's all cloudy."

Astin ran one hand agitatedly through his hair. "I know what you mean. But we have to try and find Nadin."

They were interrupted by the click of Izwark claws.

Chiara looked around, "They're coming from all directions!"

"We have to stick to the plan," he said firmly.

"No we don't dammit!" Chiara exploded, "If we stick to the plan we're all going to end up dead! I don't know about you but I'm pretty certain that I'm not going to be use to anyone dead! So for goodness sake! Just be a bit more flexible!"

Astin calmly let her vent herself at him.

The Izwark sped up, drawn by the noise.

"Okay." He said finally, in a pause while she took a breath.

"What?" she asked, thrown off in mid-rant.

"You come up with a plan and I'll follow it."

Chiara rubbed the back of her neck, "Umm…kill all the Izwark that are coming towards us?"

"Good plan," Astin grinned and switched on his light sabre.

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Atana had delved deep into the heart of the base and come out the other side. She had met very few guards and the security had been lax. She didn't know of course that this was because all the forces were being concentrated in the sector Astin and Chiara were working their way through.

Smiling at the lack of security she entered another room and flicked her eyes over it. Strange objects. The smile left her face. There was definitely something weird going on here, and the foreboding feeling had slowly been increasing. Something caught her eye.

What on earth…? Atana looked through the Perspex at the room behind. She was sure she'd never seen it before but something strangely familiar about the machinery made her shiver. Vague flashes of suppressed memories flitted to the surface of her mind before dancing back out of reach. She stepped away from the window feeling sick.

BEEP! BEEP!

The alarm went off. Atana set off down the corridor at a run, glad to get away from the lurking memories. The red flashing light glinted off the metallic walls as she ran, bathing everything in blood tinged light. She hit a panel in the wall and dived through the doorway that opened up in front of her, drawing her lightsabre as she did so. The room was huge and circular with a high ceiling. Her footsteps echoed. This must be the unloading bay, as seen by the three parked bulky transport ships. About half way up there was a balcony encircling the wall so the procedures could be monitored.

This all went through Atana's mind in a moment; she hadn't even paused in her run. All she registered was that there was an exit nearby.

The clatter of Izwark claws drew her up short. Her lightsabre flashed through the air, carving it, and any Izwark that happened to be in the way, in two. The fight was short but fierce. All of the seven Izwark that had attacked lay dead.

She switched off her lightsabre. There was a presence tickling her mind. Darker and worryingly familiar. Atana looked up at the balcony, meeting the eyes of the shadow that watched her.

Time stopped.

Then fear took over and she bolted out the building.

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"Great. Just great." Chiara muttered as she wiped the sweat from her hands and surveyed the mess of Izwark corpses as an alarm sounded loudly in her ears. "Now they really do know that we're here."

Astin coolly slipped the Sabre back into his belt. "Don't worry about it. Let's just get out of here."

They took off down the corridor they'd come from but skidded into a side one to avoid a troop of Izwark.

"They're gone," Astin observed and turned back to Chiara, but she wasn't paying attention. She was desperately trying to open a door, and when that failed, sliced through it with her light sabre.

"He's in here!" she whispered to Astin and disappeared in through the doorway.

Nadin was sitting on a small camp bed and observing them quietly with a funny smile on his face. "They're here." He said to himself before suddenly pitching forward and crashing to the floor unconscious.

Astin picked his apprentice up and put him over one shoulder.

"We'll see if he's all right in a minute," he said to Chiara's protests. "Let's get out of here first."

"What did he mean, 'They're here,'" she gasped as she followed Astin through the labyrinth.

"We'll ask him when he wakes up."

They managed to get out of the structure and to the ship, Chiara gulping for air and Nadin bouncing ungainly on Astin's shoulder. Behind them pursued a whole drove of Izwark with guns.

Astin dived into the ship and dropped Nadin on the floor. He bolted into the control room, leaving Chiara to lock the door and attend to her cousin. Atana was already gunning the engines and activating the thrusters.

"What did you find?" Astin asked, taking control of the main gun and blowing a hole into the Izwark ranks.

"Later," she replied sharply pulling the ship off the ground and slamming it through the atmosphere and into space.

Chiara entered still panting and clutching her side. "I have a stitch."

"You are seriously unfit," Atana told her, focusing on the control panel.

Chiara glared at her.

"How's Nadin?" Astin enquired.

Chiara shrugged, "I don't know. I left him where you put him."

Astin swivelled in his chair to face her. "You what?"

Chiara grinned, "Just kidding. I put him on one of the beds."

"Then let's go see him."

--------

Nadin groaned and opened his eyes.

"How you doing cousin?"

He sat up slowly and smiled at Chiara, "Not too bad." He grinned at Astin, " 'Bout time you showed up Master."

Astin's lips curved upwards in relief, "I'll forgive you your cheek this once and your disobedience of my orders."

Nadin nodded and lay back down.

"You can tell us what happened later." Astin moved to leave.

"Yes." Chiara nodded, "you need to rest." She left the room.

Astin followed her out, turning off the light, "Glad you're all right young one."

"Thank you _master_." Came a hiss of deep loathing.

Astin paused but shook it off and left the room.

--------

Chiara was in the Observation room, her booted feet resting on the table, head tilted backward and eyes closed.

Astin suppressed a grin and was about to walk silently past when she addressed him.

"You're very strange."

He stopped and turned his head to look at her. The girl still hadn't opened her eyes.

"In what way?" he asked, curious.

"You refused to do anything other than follow the plan, until I yelled at you, and then instead of berating me for losing my temper you simply let me vent, even though I was attracting the attention of every Izwark in the building and then you just let me come up with a new plan." Chiara opened her eyes and lifted her head to regard him with the brown orbs. "Why?"

Astin frowned slightly and gave a small shrug, "I know my faults. I'm inflexible and therefore completely incapable of coming up with a new plan on the spot. That's the reason I asked you to come up with a new one…as for letting you vent your anger…that was clearly something you needed to do and I tolerated it because that's your fault you need to deal with. The fact that you did call attention to us was punishment enough without me saying anything to you because you already knew what you'd done. Besides, I'm a pretty calm person."

Chiara smiled at him.

"What do you hope for?" she whispered unexpectedly after a silence had fallen.

Astin stared at her for a moment then shifted his gaze to the ceiling, a small smile playing on his face. "Most? As in for myself? I childhood thing really. Some might think it silly. I have mentioned it before, owning a ship that is." He looked back at her. "It's just something I've always wanted. A personal aim for myself. And you?"

Chiara shut her eyes again, grinning, "To become a Jedi Master. Probably one of the most obvious and common desires of someone in my position. Not particularly original." She opened her eyes to regard him again. "Yours is more special."

Astin inclined his head at her, then continued to walk through on his original errand to check up on Atana.

Chiara got up and left to go to her room.

--------------

"How are things?"

"Weird," Atana answered, keeping an eye on the readouts. "They're not pursuing us. At all. Not even one ship."

"Maybe they don't care that much."

"Hmmm…" she bent her head over the controls, "I think I'll stay up and keep an eye on things just in case it's a trap."

Astin nodded, "Fine, but only if you let me drive tomorrow."

She smiled, "If you insist. Now go to bed."

Astin left her and paced to his bedroom, smiling softly at Chiara as he passed her in the hall, and finally crawled under his covers, dropping off to sleep.

--------

The door hissed open quietly and a shadow stepped into the room.

Astin lay asleep on his bed – the sheets scrunched up underneath him as if he'd been tossing and turning.

He mumbled in his sleep and turned over onto his front, one arm hanging over the other side of the bed.

There was a zing and the room was lit with a faint blue light.

The shadow raised the blade and prepared to bring it down.

There was a crash and sparks flew as Astin rolled over, brandishing his own sabre and meeting the shadow's in mid-cut.

The scuffle was brief but violent and noisy. It ended when Astin sliced through his opponent's light sabre in a swift manoeuvre.

He hit the lights.

--------

Chiara jerked awake from a loud crash and threw on her dressing gown. Grabbing her light sabre she bolted into the corridor, meeting Atana who yelled that it had come from Astin's room.

They hit the panel outside.

"What's wrong? What's happening?" Atana gasped as she skidded into the room, closely followed by Chiara.

The room was a mess off smoking bed sheets and knocked over lamps. What was more shocking though was that Astin stood in the centre keeping his lightsabre levelled at the throat of Nadin. Nadin's own lightsabre lay broken on the floor.

"He just tried to kill me." Astin said it with a sort of calm.

Chiara was dumbfounded, "Nadin? But why?"

Nadin stood impassive at the proximity of the Sabre. He looked unusually bored and defiant. "Simple misunderstanding." He stated. "Was half asleep. Sorry."

Astin made a move to remove the lightsabre but Atana stopped him.

"He's lying," her voice shook slightly, "I–I–know what's happening. Lock him in the hold."

Astin did as she said then rejoined them in the bedroom.

Atana was compulsively clasping and unclasping her hands. She stood up and started to pace the room before finally turning to her waiting comrades.

"Kaelen was there."

Astin widened his eyes. "Are you positive?"

"One hundred percent," she replied. "I saw him. I felt his presence. He looked right at me." She began to pace again. "You told me he wouldn't come back," she shot venomously at Astin, "told me you'd killed his father. Stopped the process."

"We did kill his father. Kaelen must be continuing where he left off."

Chiara sat looking between the two, annoyed at being kept out of the loop, "What are you talking about?"

"Five years ago," Atana said slowly, "there was a wave of kidnappings. Many young Jedi and apprentices were taken. I was one such apprentice. The culprit was one Kipther von Lee. He hated the new Jedi order and sought to destroy it. What better way than to take the younger, less experienced and therefore more venerable Jedi and make them kill their masters? Of course they wouldn't do this willingly so Kipther started to invent a machine that would amplify the influencing power of a Jedi and make it more permanent. He hired scientists to make it and ordered his followers to kidnap the test subjects. That would be us Jedi's. The captures took place at the same time so as to stop the rest being warned. Kaelen was Kipther's son. He was the one ordered to capture me. Each Jedi was held somewhere until they were called to the machine.

"In any science experiment there are failures and the FI rays killed many young ones." Atana paused. "The council hunted out the culprits before they could put me in the machine. I was rescued. They killed Kipther. Kaelen escaped. He must have got the machine right. He's the one that's been kidnapping the apprentices and young Jedi, influencing them and ordering them to kill their masters."

Astin silently thought this through, "But that means that he's got Ronan and that Ronan…"

"Killed Drago."


	5. Capture

Chapter 4: Capture 

"What do you mean I have to stay here?" Chiara exploded.

Astin winced. The nearest civilisation was several thousand miles away, nevertheless he wondered if they'd heard her over there.

"This is for your own good Chiara," Atana told her firmly. "We can't risk getting you captured and nor can we risk taking Nadin with us."

Chiara regarded the spot with disgust. The small, single room, building, was made of wooden planks and contained one bed, a stove, a fire and a chair. That was about it.

"This place looks like it should be in a museum," she grumbled as she poked around. "What _is_ this?" she pointed at the stove with a look that spoke of untold horror.

"I'm not entirely sure. Don't use it. We've got plenty of camping equipment here." Astin dumped the stuff on the floor as Atana shoved Nadin onto the chair and tied him up.

"Of all the safe houses…" Chiara muttered, "You had to pick the one that looks like it dates from the twentieth century and is right out in the middle of a jungle."

Astin grinned then shrugged as he and Atana walked out the door.

"Stay safe," he whispered as they left.

---------

"Are you sure it was a good thing to let Chiara guard Nadin?" Astin finally spoke when they were flying away from the safe house. "You know how she gets when she's frustrated. Especially in that poor excuse for a shack on Galtic. That's not going to keep anything out."

Atana ignored him and guided the ship through the stars towards the planet where the Izwark base was. Her knuckles were slowly tightening on the controls till they showed white.

"Atana? Are you listening?"

"She'll be fine," Atana half snapped in reply. He was down there somewhere. Waiting for her. They dived into the planet's atmosphere.

--------

Nadin was staring at Chiara. She could feel his eyes boring into her back.

"What?" she snapped and spun to face him.

Nadin was smiling slyly at her. "They're coming for you. You know that."

"They'll have to find me first," she replied and walked off a way. She paced backwards and forwards. How dare they leave her here on guard duty? Babysitting. Bah! This was one of the most boring, not to mention annoying, jobs she'd ever done. To keep her safe they said. Surely she'd be just as safe with them. How hard could it be to break in and kill Kaelen? And the only way she'd know if they succeeded was when Nadin would start talking normally again – thus showing that the influence was broken. That was if she didn't kill him before then.

"They want me back too." Nadin continued to talk. "I'm going to kill Astin."

"Okay, shut up now!" She whirled to face him. "You may be my cousin but I'm not taking any rubbish from you. You of all people should know what I'm capable of if you continue to wind me up."

Nadin shut his mouth but his eyes continued to glitter and the unnerving smile remained on his face.

--------

"What's going on?" Astin said as he stared down at the base. "Where have all the fighter jets gone?" The landing pad behind the base was empty of all life.

They both reached the same conclusion simultaneously. Atana slammed her foot down on the accelerator and twisted the controls sharply. The ship jerked and shot off back into the sky.

--------

"It's almost time. Are you ready?"

Chiara opened her mouth to make a cutting retort but shut it again as a crunch shook the wooden ceiling. She froze. There was the sound of claws being drawn across the slats.

"They're going to get me back." Nadin smirked.

"They can try," Chiara replied and drew her lightsabre. Zing! She braced herself.

"It took ten to get me," he sneered, "How many will it take to capture you?"

The door trembled then crashed open to reveal an army of Izwark.

--------

Astin skidded into the room and slipped. He grabbed the wall to steady himself and grimaced. The room was swimming in Izwark blood. The carcasses lay scattered over the room. Nadin and Chiara were both gone.

Atana made a noise of disgust as she paused in the doorway, "That is gross." She looked over at Astin, "But did they take Chiara or did she escape?"

"I don't know. I just hope she isn't dead." He placed his feet carefully on the floor, trying not to slip again.

"They want her alive," Atana replied from the doorway, "So they can influence her to kill me."

Well that was comforting.

"Why don't you help me look for her?" he shouted over his shoulder.

"I don't want to get Izwark blood on my boots. I'll scan the perimeter."

Astin rolled his eyes. Typical.

With some delicacy he picked his way through the piled corpses. There was very little that could be discerned through the blood except the occasional footprint. There was no indication of any broken windows or knocked down walls that showed she could have escaped. The sheer force of numbers would've overpowered her. Astin turned over a dead Izwark with his foot and gave a grimace of distaste, letting it fall back. Damn it, he should have kept the girl close!

After a little while Atana returned.

"I'm certain they took her. There are marks outside like something was dragged."

Astin nodded. His face a grim mask. Guilt was hovering, threatening to engulf him.

"So now what?"

"We go back to the base and get her back," Astin said bitterly making his way back through the bodies. "Rescue her before they put her in that machine."

--------

Chiara fumed in the metallic seat. Keep her safe indeed! Did this look safe to them? It certainly didn't look safe to her. She was clamped into some sort of weird chair facing a menacing looking black screen in a tiny steel lined room and in front of her, behind the screen, and behind a Perspex window was the imposing figure of Kaelen, who was not only human but good looking to boot. Now why hadn't either Astin or Atana mentioned that? Oh, Chiara had no doubt that it was Kaelen. He was the only human in the base and had just the right features to fluster any girl – it was no wonder Atana got so worked up about seeing him again (other than the fact of course that he'd attempted to brain wash her) – with those ice blue eyes and silver hair. No kidding. Silver. Not grey. Silver.

"We are now about to take over your mind." His voice was hard as it vibrated through the speaker – yet hypnotic. "If you fight the FI rays then it is likely to hurt you so my advice to you is just to relax." He placed one hand on a small panel that linked up through a series of wires to the machine and signalled with a wave of his other hand. The large black screen lit up in front of her.

The FI poured out as a greenish light. Chiara braced herself and erected the mental blocks. She could feel the force gather around her mind and form an imaginary glass bubble. The FI slipped smoothly over it.

"She's fighting it," Kaelen stated calmly. "Alternate setting."

The machine stopped. Chiara blinked. There was a wheezing sound and a pulse of green light bulleted out of the screen. She felt it hit the bubble with shattering impact and winced. Before the pain could subside a second pulse was shot at her and a third.

Chiara could feel her mind buckling under the strain of sustaining the barrier. Regardless she poured more of the force into it.

"She's very strong," Kaelen murmured.

"Would – you – like – me – to – increase – setting – sir?" the droid beeped.

"No need. Strong or not she's about to cave."

Chiara struggled to draw breath. Perspiration beaded on her forehead and trickled into her eyes. She could feel cracks appear in the barrier, feel them spider web across the surface. The machine sent out a pulse. It hit the blockade. The glass shattered. Chiara screamed in pain as thousands of mental glass shards peppered her mind, then it was awash with waves of soothing green light.

She lost consciousness.


	6. Rescue

Chapter 5: Rescue 

"You find Chiara," Atana stated slowly opening the ship door, "If we're lucky she won't have been influenced yet."

"And if she has?"

Atana paused, "Get back here fast."

"So what are you doing?"

She drew her sabre, "I'm going after Kaelen."

Astin looked at her. Assessing whether or not she could handle something like that. She caught his look, her face a mask of iron.

"What?" she demanded.

Astin shook his head.

"The force be with you," he uttered solemnly. Atana nodded in reply and opened the door. They stepped out onto the landscape of the planet. Woodland. The ship had landed in a place of undergrowth where it couldn't be seen and hopefully would be undetected. Large purple flowers blossomed out of the earth, each one the size of a man, whilst vines entwined themselves around and across trunks, catching any leaves in between so as to form impenetrable walls and an overhead canopy.

Astin and Atana walked towards the base together, using the plant life as cover, and then split up, each heading around a different side of the base.

--------

Astin crawled through the air vents, different ones to those that Atana had gone through not that long ago, nearer to the side door. He felt with his spirit for the bond that connected them. It was there, shimmering slightly in his mind's eye, cutting through the dark mist that shrouded the corridors in a line of pure molten silver. Dropping to the corridor he allowed it to guide him through the complex. The bonds of family might have been strong but not even the dark force could cloud the bright intensity of the soulmate bond.

--------

Atana almost felt that stealth was pointless at this time but nevertheless went through the very same air vent that she'd used before and began to retrace her steps towards the room she'd seen the machine in. Maybe she'd catch Kaelen there with Chiara and be able to kill him before he could use the Force Influence on the young Jedi.

She was so deep in thought that she failed to notice the increased security from her last visit and was only aware of the body of Izwark when they were on top of her, shooting bullets with a frightening intensity.

Atana whirled her Sabre in an arc of light, deflecting as many bullets as possible. With a desperate gesture she pushed a group of Izwark violently with the force, sending them flying.

She was going to repeat the gesture when she felt a cold gun barrel being shoved between her shoulder blades.

"Freeze Jedi."

With a sigh she switched off the Sabre and calmly handed it over.

Somehow she'd known. She'd always known.

Resigned to her fate she allowed the giant Millipedes to cuff her hands and push her down the corridor.

--------

Astin drew up outside the door. This was it. He hesitated before opening it. If it wasn't locked she'd already have been influenced. The handle turned easily in his hand. Did he go in and risk her killing him and alerting the guards?

Yes. Yes he would.

With a decisive wrench Astin pushed the door open.

--------

Atana stood between the two Izwark guards, her wrists handcuffed in front of her, facing the one person she'd hoped she'd never see again.

"Hello Atana," Kaelen descended the staircase in the nerve centre of the base and stood in front of her. "Long time no see."

"Not long enough," she snarled.

Kaelen tutted, "That's not very polite." He walked off a little way then dismissed the guards with a wave of his hand. They were alone.

"Just like old times, though the prisoner thing is getting a little old, don't you think?"

"Not my choice," she replied.

Kaelen met her eyes and glanced at the handcuffs. He took a key from his pocket.

"I think we should take those off."

Now her eyes widened in fright. She backed off a few steps.

He approached her.

"Don't Kael, please," she begged, panic edging her voice, "Please. I don't want to know."

Kaelen smiled, "I do."

Atana glanced desperately over her shoulder but came face to face with a wall. There was no where to run. She flinched as he calmly slipped the key into the lock and a bolt of electricity jumped between their hands.

"Would you look at that?" Kaelen released the handcuffs, "the force still seems to think that we're the perfect partners."

Atana closed her eyes in mental anguish. "Damn you," she whispered hoarsely, "I said I didn't want to know."

"And I said I did. Besides," he placed the 'cuffs down on a table, "you already knew."

"I had hoped…things change."

"The force doesn't change. As a Jedi you should know that."

Atana stared down at her uncuffed hands. Maybe if she was really quick she could throttle him.

"So," she looked up at him, "how are you going to kill me then?"

"Kill you?" he put on a mock surprised tone. "Who said I was going to kill you? I want you to be around to watch my plan work." He picked up her light sabre and waved it tauntingly in her face, "I think I'll keep this if you don't mind." With that he slipped it into his belt and turned his back on her leaving her feeling annoyed, angry and incredibly foolish.

Atana glanced around the room, taking in the details. There were two levels to the large room that was the nerve centre. The upper level seemed to be merely a viewing platform. It also held a small table and seating. Clearly Kaelen's little private area where he could go to keep an eye on things. A spiral staircase descended from it and down onto the main floor, which held a giant table (for conferences?) and various other surfaces scattered with pieces of paper, pens, books and the like. One entire wall was taken up with computers and large read out monitors. There was a smaller display in the corner with around fifteen, twenty by twenty centimetre, screens.

Her eyes alighted on them.

"What are those?"

"Cameras mainly," he replied airily, "placed at strategic points around the base." He turned to smirk at her. "Why? Want to see how your old apprentice is doing?"

No. He'd see Astin. She had to get him away from those screens.

With a snarl of false anger (because Jedis aren't supposed to let their emotions control them – though suffice to say that not all the anger she expressed was fake) she kicked over a table and used the Force to shake the light circuits so they flashed on and off. With a jerk of her hand she gestured for her light sabre. It leapt halfway across the room before halting in mid air.

"Come now," Kaelen smiled silkily, holding the light sabre suspended effortlessly, "you know this won't do you any good."

Atana was struggling to pull the sabre to herself. Sweat beaded on her forehead and ran into her eyes. How was he so much stronger than her?

"Enough of this game." Kaelen beckoned and the light sabre jumped towards him. Atana jerked forward and stumbled as the possession was snatched forcibly from her. Kaelen caught it deftly and tucked it way.

"Are you quite finished?"

Atana glared at him, hoping she'd bought Astin enough time.

Kaelen studied her face intently. "You'll be obedient in time."

"I doubt it," she bit back in reply, before adding, "obedient in what?"

Kaelen smiled disconcertingly and strode off, leaving Atana inwardly trembling.

--------

"Chiara?" Astin whispered, stepping into the room. The young Jedi was lying on her back on her bed – head turned to the ceiling.

"I was wondering when you'd show up."

Astin kept his eyes on her face. It was blank of all expression. "I'm too late."

"A couple of hours too late." She slipped her hand into her pocket and brought out her light sabre, tossing it lightly into the air and catching it. Astin continued to stand motionless, watching her with guarded eyes.

With a sigh Chiara got to her feet and turned on the light sabre…then she turned it off again. Astin watched confused as conflict broke out across her face.

'_Don't kill him'_ whispered from Chiara's lips.

"I must follow Kaelen's orders," she answered herself in a deadpan voice.

'_Kaelen ordered us to kill our master…this is Nadin's kill' _

"Then I must alert Nadin."

'_Not yet you won't' _

Conflicting expressions crossed her face until it was like a light had broken out. Chiara's eyes cleared.

"Astin get out of here!" she exclaimed immediately.

He took a step towards her, "You're – back?"

"I'm attempting to suppress the influence." Pain flitted across her face. "I'm exhausted Astin. Get out of here before it regains control."

Astin hesitated a moment then stepped forward and kissed her. Chiara's eyes reflected surprise as he drew back.

"You're strong Chiara. Don't give up."

"Go." She whispered.

Astin left as quickly as he'd come.

--------

Atana sat in a defensive crouch in a corner of the room. Kaelen hadn't spoken or looked at her since he'd relieved her of her light sabre for the second time. That had been a few hours ago. She wondered what he was playing at.

"Come on out Atana," he said, eyes focused on the screens, "hiding in the corner is totally futile."

She straightened up but didn't leave the corner. She was expecting him to make a move to trap her any minute and wanted to have something solid behind her if it came down to a fight.

"When are you going to stick me in the machine?"

He spun to look at her, fury written across his face. "I'm not."

"Oh? You had no problem with it last time."

He strode across the room and grabbed her arm roughly. "It was not my choice."

"You could have stopped it from happening," she growled back.

His fingers tightened around her arm, making her wince. Seeing it, he let go.

"You betrayed me," she hissed at him.

"What would you have had me do? Fight my father? Ha!" He snorted derisively. "That would have been foolish. Besides, brainwashing the Jedi was an ingenious idea."

"Even me?"

He glared at her again.

"What would you have had me do?" he repeated, not answering her question.

"You might not have kissed me."

He clenched his hands into fists and whirled away from her, with anger on his face.

Then he turned back to her. His face was its normal blank again but his voice had turned silken.

"What do you want that I can give you Atana?"

"Nothing!" she replied sharply.

"Nothing?" he repeated softly, raising his eyebrows. "Really? What about to see your parents again?" Atana visibly baulked. "Yes," Kaelen whispered seductively. "I can see you want to see them again. I can make that happen you know."

Atana gulped and stepped away from him. "How?" She found herself asking.

"I know where they are."

The knowledge made her feel dizzy. It wasn't possible. She'd do anything to know how they were. How long had it been? Fifteen years?

"What's the catch?" she said, almost reluctantly.

"Why should there be a catch?" he smiled slyly.

"Why shouldn't there be?" she returned.

"Give up the Jedi order."

She smiled wearily, "We both know that I won't do that Kael. No bait's as strong as that."

"No bait?" he uttered, closing the distance between them in an instant and taking her arm gently. "No bait?"


	7. The plan

Chapter 6: The Plan 

She couldn't move. He was so close to her. If he kissed her she wouldn't be able to stop him.

Fortunately the doors swished open and an Izwark clattered in.

"Master."

Kaelen let go of her slowly, unwillingly.

"The reports master."

Kaelen turned to deal with the guard.

Atana eyed the open doorway and looked back to Kaelen's turned back. Could she…? Dare she?

She'd have to. She clearly couldn't stay here any longer. With bated breath she slipped through the door then took off at full pelt down the corridor.

--------

Astin sat in the ship with his head in his hands. This was great. Just great. How was he supposed to save Chiara with only himself?

He scratched his head. Atana hadn't returned. She was either dead or captured, neither of which boded well. He just hoped that if she was indeed captured that she'd be able to resist Kaelen's dark influence.

"Well I could blow up the base…" he muttered to himself, "but I can't set strategic bombs around the place and get the others out at the same time."

"It's lucky I'm here then isn't it."

Astin jumped out of his skin and turned quickly to find Luke standing in the doorway.

"Don't _do_ that!" he exclaimed, before adding, "how the heck did you get on the ship without me noticing?"

Luke drew his cloak closer around him. "Never mind that. It seems that we have a bit of a situation on our hands."

Astin ran a hand through his hair, "That's putting it mildly."

"Atana communicated, what was happening, to the council just before you entered the base to kill Kaelen. We gave her strict instructions to wait for us but she clearly ignored them. I got here as quickly as I could."

"Where are the other Jedis?"

"Too slow. I got here in my racer. It could be a while before those guys catch up."

"So what do we do?"

Luke's face turned grim. "I don't know how long Atana can last against Kaelen and I'd like to get in there before Chiara completely gives up the fight and lets him take over her mind. I liked the blowing up idea."

Astin grinned, "Sounds good to me."

--------

Atana strode down the corridor as quickly as she dared without drawing attention to herself. The moment the corridor was free of any Izwark she broke into a run. The artificial light glinted unnaturally off the steel walls that flew past. She screeched round the corner and skidded to a panicked halt.

Kaelen stood in the centre of the corridor.

Atana just stood opposite him and stared. _How the hell did he get around in front of her?_ His blue eyes met her green ones coolly. Atana tried to keep a blank expression and a firm stance but she could feel herself inwardly shaking.

"You're free to pass," Kaelen said smoothly, "don't let me stop you."

Atana glared at him and took a few steps forward but hesitated again. To get out she'd have to brush past him. She didn't know if she'd be able to stand being so close…and what if he reached out for her? He could probably pull her to him with no problems and she wouldn't be able to dodge out of the way.

Kaelen raised an eyebrow at her, taunting her, but still she didn't move. Her fists clenched at her sides.

"You mean to tell me," Kaelen whispered silkily, slowly approaching her immobile form, "that all I have to do is stand in your way and you won't pass?" He stopped, barely an inch from touching her, his face close to hers. "And you are willing to let me have that much power over you?"

Atana stood, breathing heavily, her heart pounding. Her mind was screaming at her to run but her feet refused to move.

With agonising slowness Kaelen bent his head to hers. Before they could touch Atana jerked away, spun on her heel and stormed back down the corridor to the control room.

Kaelen smiled to himself.

--------

"The generators are placed at a mixture of points around the base." Luke pointed at various places on the map they'd used previously. "They're under the slight domes on the roof. I'll try to have placed them all before the first one goes off but having not been inside this base before I can't be certain." Luke tapped his finger impatiently on the paper and looked thoughtful. "Then I'll go see if I can find the captured apprentices and help you out."

Astin nodded and double-checked he had his light sabre, before turning to Luke who was strapping the on the belt full of timed explosives.

"All ready?"

Luke nodded in answer to Astin's question.

"Then let's get them out of there."

--------

Atana was sitting on the conference table when Kaelen re-entered the room. Jumping up she made a move to slap him but he caught her wrist before her hand made contact.

"You're being a very ungrateful guest," he whispered, lightly stroking the captured hand with his thumb.

Feeling her body melt Atana quickly wrenched her hand away and backed off.

"Guest? I think that needs a bit of examination. Many would find it highly controversial for you to refer to me as your guest."

Kaelen smiled, "We've already established that you can leave whenever you want to, you just don't seem to have the inclination to depart from me."

Atana glared at him resentfully while he stood there with a mocking smile on his face. It would be useless for her to argue back yet his words still made her blood boil. She just wished she were fast enough to hit him really hard and make her escape while he was unconscious.

While she was thinking Kaelen had moved over to the staircase and was ascending it. Halfway up he paused and leant over the railings.

"Clearly you seem to doubt my hospitality. Maybe that's because the conference room is so bleak. Why don't you join me up here in my private sanctum? It's a lot more comfortable."

She met his eyes. There was something definitely suggestive in them, and what made it scarier was that she could tell the suggestion was in earnest. She shook her head and looked away.

"Very well," he said coldly, a low tone of hurt vibrated through the words, though she could have imagined it. "Don't complain about my hospitality."

"Hospitality isn't your motive," she couldn't prevent herself from snapping in reply.

The corners of Kaelen's mouth curved in a small smile and he finished climbing the stairway, settling himself on the sofa. "Don't forget I'm watching you," he said, picking up his book.


	8. The fight

Chapter 7: The fight 

There was a movement. Atana bolted up from her chair, her eyes snapping open, and whirled around. Kaelen was standing close to the chair she must have drifted off in.

"It's nice to see you sleeping so peacefully. Last time we met your dreams were riddled with nightmares."

Atana flinched and walked away from him. They had been. Nightmares of the time when she was just a five-year-old girl and the slave traders had come amidst blood and fire and her brother's dying screams. With a shiver she tried to shake off the memories and paused on the other side of the room. She looked towards the computer screens and her eyes widened. Astin and Luke were running down corridors on two different monitors.

Kaelen was walking around behind her.

He couldn't be allowed to see them. She had to distract him.

She felt him approach and yanked herself away from him, making sure she didn't touch him.

Kaelen turned around to face her, his back thankfully away from the security screens.

"You're going to start hurting my feelings if you keep rejecting me like this Atana."

"It's only what you deserve," she snarled back. "You're on the dark side and you were willing to let your father hook me up to that vile machine of his."

"We've been through this." She saw a flash of anger in his eyes. "If it were up to me it wouldn't have happened."

"I still don't believe you."

There was hurt lurking somewhere in his eyes that made her look down at the floor. "I hate you." She whispered without conviction.

"You loved me once."

Atana drew a sharp breath, "Things have changed."

He voice grew stronger, "Oh, I don't think they have."

Atana met his gaze, trying to bolt down the rising panic.

"I think," he approached her slowly, "that your feelings are unchanged, that, if anything, they are even stronger than before."

His eyes trapped her, held her there. His calm words had enmeshed her in a net that was slowly tightening.

"Ah," he looked down at her face intently, "Now you feel trapped."

_He knows me too well,_ she thought.

"I can untangle your wings, release the noose around your neck. I can free you."

He moved closer.

"Kael…" she pleaded, "Don't…"

Then he kissed her and the world dissolved.

--------

Astin pelted down the corridor at full tilt. Any Izwark that got in his way was sliced in two. He didn't stop for anything. Time was not a luxury he could afford. Somewhere on the other side of the building Luke was running towards the first of the power generators to set a bomb and before it exploded, along with the other bombs, he had to find Kaelen and kill him. Knowing Kaelen he'd probably already know he was on his way.

--------

Atana felt herself move backwards as Kaelen continued to kiss her. She slipped her hands down to his waist before he took them in his own. The kisses burned with passion and Atana stopped moving as her back hit one of the cool metal pillars with a steel railing. She felt it digging painfully into her back and drew away, the sharp pain bringing her back to the present and sensible thinking. She shouldn't be kissing him. He was evil.

"Kaelen, we have to stop," she gasped.

He looked into her eyes and she saw something there that set off the warning bells.

"I totally agree," he replied, snapping the chains to her wrists and the bar and retreating before she could react.

"Sorry my dear," he said to her hurt look, "but I can't have you loose to fight against me. At least not until I get rid of your pioneering friends." He turned his back to her. "Very valiant effort to try and prevent me from noticing them but I know everything that happens in this place."

There was laughter from behind him.

He turned to see Atana flipping something between her fingers.

"Two can play at the double crossing game," she laughed, switching on her light sabre that she'd slipped from his belt during the kiss and slicing effortlessly through the chains.

Kaelen's face was a mask of fury.

"Touché," she taunted and stood in the ready pose.

It was at that moment that the doors swished open and Astin skidded in panting.

"Better late than never," Atana commented keeping her eyes on Kaelen. "Although five more minutes and I wouldn't have needed rescuing."

"You really think," Kaelen sneered, "that you would've defeated me in five minutes?"

With a sharp gesture he pushed out at Atana.

The force hit her directly in the chest and sent her flying across the room where she crashed into the wall, crumpling in a heap at the bottom of it.

Astin immediately went to her side.

"Are you okay?"

Atana shook her head delicately and gingerly touched her chest. "I think the traitorous git just broke some of my ribs."

Kaelen was standing beneath the platform at the other side of the room with a drawn light sabre. As Astin helped Atana to her feet there was a hissing noise. The doors behind Kaelen opened and the three captives walked in. Chiara, Ronan and Nadin fanned out next to Kaelen and drew their sabres, glaring at the two Jedi Masters.

"Kill them," Kaelen ordered and all hell broke loose.

Nadin and Chiara leapt forward, somersaulting through the air and landing in front of their previous masters. As one Atana and Astin drew their sabres and clashed with their apprentices. Kaelen calmly ascended onto the balcony with Ronan next to him, so that he could oversee the battle better.

The fight was fierce and violent. Sparks flew as the sabres crashed and zipped through the air, carving the equipment and furniture in the room up.

Astin soon gained an advantage over Nadin but Kaelen sent in Ronan to help out. Hard pressed on either side Astin twisted and turned, his sabre a coloured blur, throwing out a hand to prevent twisted metal Ronan had torn from the walls from hitting him.

Atana flipped away from Chiara and landed precariously on the platform. Chiara leapt up to join her, light sabre descending in a graceful arc to slice open the floor where Atana had been standing moments earlier. To avoid the blade she'd stumbled backwards and into Kaelen's grasp. With a sharp tug he disarmed her of the sabre and let it fall to the floor, now he held her tightly, one arm drawn behind her back.

"Chiara hold!" he snapped as the girl approached ready to deliver the killing stroke. The apprentice didn't even blink, just turned off her light sabre with a blank face and stood to the side.

That was the scariest thing about it. The fact that the captives didn't speak or show any expression, they just obeyed.

"Look Atana, your friend's losing."

Astin knocked Nadin's blade aside and backed off, sweat pouring down his face, his sabre wavering between Nadin and Ronan, shaking slightly from his fatigue.

"Do you like what I've done with your previous apprentices? They're so obedient now."

"Go to hell Kaelen!" she spat out.

There was an ear shattering bang as an explosion rocked the base. Atana was thrown from Kaelen's grasp and over the balcony, landing heavily on the floor below. The others were all knocked off their feet. Ronan hit his head as he went down, slipping into unconsciousness. Parts of the ceiling shuddered and fell, smashing into shards on contact with the floor. One of them caught Chiara on the side of the head. She collapsed against the wall dazed.

When the tremor had finished Astin struggled back up, leaning against the wall for support. Luke had started to set off the timers; they didn't have much time until this place became a pile of rubble.

Atana groaned and Astin was instantly at her side, helping her to stand, wishing that he could see how Chiara was without her killing him. Kaelen was moving away from the cabinet he'd been thrown against and came to stand above them. Chiara dragged herself up and away from the wall, going to stand next to him.

With an impatient, yet condemning gesture he snapped his fingers at Chiara and pointed to them. Nadin was coming up from behind.

But Chiara didn't move.

"Chiara!" Kaelen barked at her.

The girl drew her light sabre and approached the edge of the balcony, but when she got there she stopped again. With a swift, finalising gesture she turned on her heel and swung the blade through Kaelen.

He died with a look of surprise on his face.

--------

Astin and Atana waited in a shocked silence. With a small sigh Chiara switched off her sabre and slid to the floor unconscious. Nadin did the same, just as a second explosion rocked the room.

Atana looked at Astin and opened her mouth to speak but he shushed her.

"Now is not the time," he yelled over the shaking and noise of the building disintegrating.

He hurriedly ran up the stairs and grabbed Chiara, slinging her over one shoulder before rejoining Atana and placing Nadin over the other. Atana shakily tried to pick up Ronan but the fall and the broken ribs made her gasp in pain and drop him again.

It was, therefore, fortunate that Luke chose that moment to enter the room.

"Look who I found," he grinned indicating the fourth kidnapped apprentice over his shoulder. "Allow me," he said to Atana taking Ronan and putting him over the other shoulder.

They left the room at a run, but Atana paused in the doorway, even though she knew that there was no point in going back for Kaelen's body. With a small sigh she turned her back on the room and followed the others out the building.


	9. Epilogue

**Thank you to Miss Mary Lou and Mystik Genie**

* * *

Epilogue 

Astin held Chiara in his arms tenderly and stroked her hair. He'd made sure he was by her side the whole time she was out, and derived satisfaction that she'd called for him the moment she'd opened her eyes. She remembered killing Kaelen but that was the only thing she could remember since she'd last seen him. The fight was completely blocked out of her memory. Somehow something, probably the blow to the head, had triggered her to fight off the Influence briefly, long enough for her to kill Kaelen.

Nadin was in the kitchen, eating, none the worse for his experience. The other apprentice too seemed fairly unharmed. It was Ronan who was left emotionally shattered. The knowledge that he'd killed his uncle and master weighed heavily on his heart and mind. It would be a long time before he'd be able to get over it.

Finally there was Atana. She hadn't spoken a word about what had happened between her and Kaelen and he didn't think that she ever would. Despite all her protests Astin believed she'd loved Kaelen and wouldn't be able to get over his death anytime soon.

--------

Atana sat in her bedroom gazing at her duvet and plucking away at it with her fingers. He was gone. The book hadn't specified what happened if your soulmate got killed. With a sigh she pulled out her light sabre and started to practise with it in the room, going through each movement slowly like Yoga.

She'd cried. Cried in the middle of the night when no one could hear her or chastise her for her feelings. Maybe it was better this way. Now she didn't have to keep looking over her shoulder in case he was following her and at least she'd been spared having to do it herself.

The tears were all gone now.

Putting away the sabre she walked out into the corridor and found herself walking into the main room. Astin was there with Chiara in his arms. Could she forgive her young colleague for killing her soulmate? The question was pointless. She already had.

"You going to be all right?" Astin asked her gently.

Chiara looked up into his face, unsure what he was talking about.

Atana smiled at him. Of course she couldn't hide it from Astin.

"I'll be fine," she replied slowly.

What would she do now he was gone?

She'd do what she'd done before. Carry on. Live and fight.

* * *

**There is a sequel and prequel to this coming when I get the time**


End file.
